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December 25, 2021
'40 acres'
On this day in 1865, as rumors began to circulate in the South that there was to be free distribution of southern lands, many formerly enslaved people abandoned plantations in anticipation of their '40 acres'. This was in a report by Union General Rufus Saxton, the Commander of the Freedmen’s Bureau.
Also on this day
Cheney University of Pennsylvania
Cheney University of Pennsylvania was reportedly established on this day in 1837 as the African Institute for Colored Youth. It is considered the first Historically Black College and University (HBCU).
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